Children's home run by Headway Adolescent Resources Limited in Monmouthshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 1 SC447768 Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for up to three children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2019 Full Good 06/11/2018 Full Good 05/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. This is partly due to the stability and consistency of the staff team, whose members are strongly invested in the children. The positive relationships are reciprocated by the children, with one child telling the inspector that a staff member was like a ‘second Mum’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. For example, the home looked after newly hatched chicks as part of one child’s alternative learning package. The manager has advocated for this child’s learning needs to be reassessed to help identify the appropriate education provision moving forward. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, another child was able to sit their GCSE exams in the home. Staff continue to support this child as they explore their post-16 education and employment options.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke with one family member of a child, who spoke highly of the care their child receives. The family member described the home, following a visit, as ‘friendly, warm, [and] feels like family’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and external professionals are strong in this home. Feedback from one child’s social worker and CAMHS practitioner described how the child had progressed ‘far beyond’ their expectations. External practitioners value the timeliness of communication, and that the decisions made by the staff are child focused.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are kept safe in this home. A child who previously lived in this home had very complex needs, which compromised their safety. Staff demonstrated resilience and commitment to keeping them safe and worked hard with the wider network to achieve the appropriate support for them. There was continuous dialogue with those involved and regular reviews of the child’s support plan to manage a quickly changing picture of need.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are well trained to use physical restraint. However, it is used infrequently in this home. Staff try to de-escalate and distract to calm the situation, which means only low-level intervention is used, and only when it is necessary.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff try to promote appropriate levels of independence with the children in preparation for them moving on. For example, the manager has done some role-play with one child around having a tenancy agreement as he wishes to rent a property when he leaves. Self-directed learning is also encouraged, such as researching the associated costs of renting. Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 4 The arrangements in place in respect of safer recruitment are good. Reference checks are completed and gaps in employment explored.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

COVID-19 has had minimal impact in this home. Only one member of staff has tested positive, and this was well managed by the manager in order to reduce any possible negative impact for the children.

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good

The children’s bedrooms require immediate improvement. The inspector found bedrooms to be unclean and issues of poor ventilation. The number of items in one child’s room also made it difficult for staff to clean effectively. A dirty birdcage had been left in another child’s bedroom for two months. Leaders and managers started to address this during the inspection.

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good

The wider home environment also requires further attention, which managers and leaders are aware of and have plans to address. For example, there is a broken greenhouse and decking in the corner of an otherwise well-maintained garden. The ceiling to the staff en-suite bathroom is peeling extensively. The lounge and dining areas of the home require some personalisation, to reflect the children who live here, but are otherwise maintained to a good standard.

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good

Children’s written care plans do not accurately reflect the child’s needs, or how staff are expected to meet these. Records do not detail the goals staff should support children to work towards, to ensure they make continued progress. For example, how to sensitively manage a child’s hoarding behaviours and support them not to eat in their bedroom. The records do not capture the child’s voice.

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good

Records relating to children who have since left the home are not stored securely.

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good

Team meetings offer staff a reflective space, and training sessions are provided. These sessions are tailored to the needs of the children in the home.

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good

Staff members told the inspector that they enjoy working in the home alongside like-minded and committed colleagues. Staff members told the inspector that the manager had created a culture where challenge is encouraged, and decisions around the care of the children are discussed.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision, and they told the inspector that they can reach out to the manager at any time should they wish to. Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are clean and maintained to a high standard, that they are free from mould and that they have appropriate furniture for the children to store their belongings. 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. 27 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development and quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the manager critically reviews the care provided to the children in the home to ensure continuous improvement in their lived experience.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed; and

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c) (f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered should ensure that plans are kept up to date and reflect the care each child needs. Children should also be helped to understand their plan and supported to contribute to their records. 27 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— 1 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 7 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

if the child dies before attaining the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of the child’s death;

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Requirement Due date

in cases not falling within sub-paragraph (a), for 75 years from the child’s date of birth;

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(b)(c) (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that records are archived securely and promptly after a child has left the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, where appropriate, children should be involved in choosing and preparing meals, and opportunities to sit together and eat should be promoted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.8)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspector

Katie Ratcliffe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC447768 9 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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